Tuesday, December 24, 2013

In the last
couple of weeks I retrieved boxes of ornaments from the cellar and began to
adorn the house.I cannot open these
boxes,many given to me by my mother,
without dwelling in sadness as well as joy.A marriage of households last year spurred on sorting things, and
building piles for the yard sale.But
there are still so many things I will never use again, things that came from
her hand, that I cannot surrender.Yet.

I cannot
surrender the tenderness by which she found just the right do it yourself
ornament kits at Two Guys – the Big Store in New London Connecticut before K
Mart was invented.I cannot surrender
the long unused Christmas Tree stand, its box ripped, held together by
twine.She bought it the first year my
Dad was under the ocean in a submarine on patrol during the Christmas
season.

And there are
gifts from my first marriage.And there
are gifts from dear ones who are no longer dear.This time of painful and joyful remembrance
opens my heart to the reality of loss, the difficulty of change.And one of the gifts of our pain is that
through it we can see the pain of others near and far.As we prepare to sing Peace on Earth Good
Will to Men … that shalom, that deep contentment and joy we long for, is not
present in all of our households or in our global neighborhood.And yet through the darkness we can see a bit
of light.

Blessed are
those who remember the grieving parents of Newtown and Chicago, and the grieving
children whose mothers have died.Blessed are those who have not forgotten that thousands huddle in snow
covered tents in refugee camps in Jordan, and thousands more are sifting rubble
and waiting for water in cities Typhoon Haiyan destroyed.Blessed are you whose voices tonight remember
Matthew Harriman and all others who are dying alone for no good reason.Blessed are you who are moved to break apart
failed systems and rebuild caring community.

We remember joy,
and we hold close the little fire that still burns, steadfastly waiting for it
to grow.We remember peace, and hold our
hands out to each other without fear working together to build the peaceable
kingdom that is promised to us by the One who came into the human family as a
vulnerable child.

Let us
pray:God who creeps into the corners of
our lives where anxiety and sorrow abide, be with us in our lamentation for our
own brokenness, and for the brokenness around us.Be with us in our longing for light.Bless us with courage to hold onto the pieces
of the life you give us that hold the light and reflect it.Bless us with your ongoing work of
resurrection.Make us instruments of
your peace, and bearers of your light.In the name of Jesus, the One who is to come.Amen.

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Want to see beyond the wall? Is your heart burning to visit with women who struggle to save enough water to wash their dishes, and their children? Do you desire to touch the olives, wade in the Sea of Galilee, walk in the dust with the One who lived in a tension filled occupied land, amid people of deep faith and radical hospitality?

Join us for a Women's Witness Trip to Israel-Palestine, for 10 days of conversation with Christian, Jewish and Muslim women. We will make thoughtful inquiry into realities 'on the ground' to deepen our understanding of the impact of current conditions on the spiritual, physical, emotional and economic lives of women and their families. Our discussions will complement daily worship, visits to holy sites and free time to take in all there is to see and hear and taste.

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

We gather today with heavy hearts in the
face of an inexplicable tragedy.We are
shocked by the reminder of how fragile human life is, and how necessary it is
to live well all the days we are given.We gather because we need to be together, to hold each other up, to
offer words of remembrance and wordless comfort.We gather together to honor a woman who has
touched many lives with grace, and encouragement, and with vision.It was her vocation to be an instrument of
hope.

Vocation is a word, an idea, that our
culture has tried to squash into a tiny box.We often think that vocation has something to do with the religious
life, with those who go off and put on funny clothes and dedicate themselves to
their God.But Vocation will not be
contained in a little box.

Each of us has a vocation, a
calling.Frederick Buechner defines
vocation as 'the place where your deep gladness meets the world's deep need.’ Gladness, joy in our work is required.A musician who devotes his life to accounting
has missed his calling.A mechanic who rejoices
in repairing the machines on which our lives depend has found her calling.Joy in doing well the work we are given to do
is what turns a job into a vocation.A
job that pays the bills is necessary to the body, but work done with integrity
and love is what feeds our spirits.

Each of us is invited into holy work,
work that engages our mind and body and spirit.As humans coming of age, we search for the
place where our deep gladness, the use of our particular skills and talents and
gifts, may be devoted to tasks that are meaningful, to work that matters.In a world of options and choices and
constraints it is hard to find our own path.Sometimes we are called to join the family business, but often our own
path may not necessarily be the path parents expectOur own path may differ from the path our friends
take.Two roads diverged in the yellow wood.

It is hard to find our very own vocation.That is why we need good teachers for those
who are just beginning to discover their identity, their calling. The vocation
of the ones who name capacity and talent that a young
person cannot see is essential for the flourishing of our community.The vocation of the ones who unfold the great
stories so that our culture’s wisdom is shared is essential for a rich inner
life for all our people.Stories of
friendship, and courage in the face of uncertainty teach us all our lives.The vocation of the ones who help young
adults find their place in the ongoing pageant of our community’s history, and
future, is essential.The vocation of an
Educator, a Hope Bearer, is Good and Holy Work

Linda Beaulieu did her work well, every
day of her life.With joy she did her
work.With integrity she walked the
halls of Stevens High School, and the side streets of Claremont.With grace she danced.In delight she called forth the best in her
students, and sent them, sends you on to flourish.No lesson she taught, no gift she gave can
ever be taken away.You have that
forever, and what she gave you will be a lamp on your path.Linda’s work had meaning.It mattered.Now her work is finished.She has
been enfolded into the company of the saints in light, she sees God face to
face and is embraced by God’s loving presence.

Linda Beaulieu’s work passed on to
you.Remember her, remember what she
taught you.Then put on your red shoes,
and follow your path with joy and integrity.

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

At the time of the recent Israeli elections a team from the
PBS News Hour focused on economic, political and social issues that affect the
people of that land.In the segment
addressing relationships between Jewish Israelis and the Palestinians who live
on the other side of the separation wall Margaret Warner asked a young
Palestinian woman ‘do you think Israel has a right to exist?”The twentysomething graphic designer smiled
and said “No, of course not, but it’s a fact.” www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/world/jan-june13/israel_02-01.html

Visitors begin with that question, as if it is the
foundational question.And it is, from
the Jewish Israeli point of view.In a
land founded on the violent dispossession of thousands of Palestinians, a
dispossession that continues as settlements are built, the Dispossessor cries
out for recognition of its right to exist.It is so easy for us to see only that side of a complicated story.We know well the stories of murder and
dispossession of millions of Jews from their homes all across Europe.We do not know so well the stories of the Palestinian
suffering that followed the creation of the Jewish homeland, the sanctuary for
Jews from across the world.

It is so easy for Christian Pilgrims to visit the Holy Land
without coming into contact with any Palestinian people.The plane lands in Israel, the taxi flies
over a highway prohibited to Palestinians.The tour bus includes an Israeli licensed guide, visiting the Holy Sites
in Galilee, and Nazareth.Only in a visit to Bethlehem might a visitor
encounter the West Bank, and notice the separation wall. But there may not be
time to notice the ongoing destruction of Palestinian homes and olive groves,
the detentions of angry Palestinian children, or the diversion of water needed
by residents of refugee camps for cooking and bathing so that Jewish settlers living
up the hill can fill their swimming pools. Only by walking with people beyond the wall
is it possible to see the impact of the creation of the State of Israel on the
lives of the families who have lived on this land for centuries.Jewish Peace activists know that Jewish
Israelis are imprisoned by the wall, diminished by the separation from their
neighbors.Only by hearing their
stories, their struggle, their hope is it possible to ask the Right
Question.

Warner’s question was the equivalent of asking a woman
carrying her child along the Trail of Tears “Does the State of Georgia have a
right to exist?”No, of course not,
might does not make right, but it’s a fact.The right question gently wonders how we might support the people of
that land to rebuild a more just community where all the stories of suffering
and hope are honored.The right question
is more like“what are do you want for
your children?” and “how can we, your neighbors, support you in your dream for
peace?”and“how can we, your neighbors, and urge our own
government to promote justice and peace in your land?”

Perhaps someday more pilgrims from New Hampshire might carry
their good will, and their inquiring and discerning hearts to visit the people
of Israel/Palestine and to ask more questions, and deepen our connections so
that we might better pray for peace in the world that we share.

On this starry night I bring you a story from Beit
Sephor, the Shepherds Fields, a little village on the outskirts of Bethlehem.

This Palestinian village in the West Bank is home
to thousands of Christian and Muslim men and women.Thirty years ago the leaders of the village
were talking and thinking and planning for freedom.They were imagining how they might join in
the resistance movement against the Israeli military occupying their
homeland.They read the reflections of
Martin Luther King.They knew of Gandhi,
of Tutu and Jesus.They knew that
peaceful resistance against violence is a powerful weapon.

The people of Beit Sephor had also heard about a
tea party organized in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.They determined to engage in a tax revolt,
refusing to pay the taxes and fees assessed by the Israeli occupation for
property, electricity, water and all the other high cost, second rate services
provided by the government.[i]

In preparing their strategy they knew they had to
find ways to feed their children.They
planted Victory Gardens.They built
chicken coops.But providing milk was a
problem.They were dependent on Israeli
suppliers for their children’s milk and that could be cut off in a heartbeat if
the Israeli Army decided to do so.They
needed milk independence.

Beit Sephor is a village made of stone, in a
country made of stone.The people who
live there are city dwellers.Its been a
long time since anyone grazed herds.A
group of intellectuals did some research, bought 18 cows from a kibbutz, hired
a consultant and started a dairy cooperative.[ii]The milk was very good.Their children were happy.

One day, one of the cows did something
strange.She started jumping around, and
then she lay down in the hay.They were
perplexed and concerned.A crowd
gathered, and someone called the village physician.They realized she was about to give
birth.The modern people of this village
had never seen a live birth – they were awed. There was great joy,“As if a childless family had their
firstborn child.”Something unexpected, powerful and mysterious
had happened among them.They were
filled with love for their newborn calf.Now they had 19 beautiful cows in their herd.

As the resistance movement took root, some
Palestinian people resisted with weapons.The Boston Tea Party was not the only path to independence.The Israeli government responded to the armed
uprising with enormous force.As the
fighting started Bethlehem was surrounded by the army, invaded by tanks.Manger Square became a battle ground.People were trapped in the Church of the
Nativity.People were shot going to
church.

Nearby, Beit Sephor was put under curfew by the
Israeli Army. The military arrested people, seized property, threatened
children to try to break them, to get them to pay taxes.Many many people suffered while holding on to
their peaceful resistance.

It didn’t take long for the Army to hear about the
cows.A band of green helmeted soldiers
accompanied by the Miltary commander entered the farm with cameras and took a
mug shot of every cow.The commander issued
the order:You have 24 hours to shut
down the farm or I will send in bulldozers and knock it down. “Why?” demanded their caretaker.“Those cows are a direct threat to National
Security of the State of Israel.”Well
really!Why would 19 cows be a threat to
the most powerful military in the Middle East?The people of Beit Sephor were not about to surrender their cows.They divided the herd, and began moving them
in the night from place to place.

The army began to search.And Search.They sent jeep loads of soldiers.They sent helicopters.They paid
informants.They used every high tech
surveillance device they had.The more
the defiance and the resistance of the people of Beit Sephor succeeded, the
more determined the Israeli Army became to hunt down the fugitive bovines.Operation Cow went on for months.

In the end, the Army got the cows, but not before
the ordinary people of Beit Sephor had been reminded of the power of hope in
the darkness, the power of loving, fearless non-violent action in the face of
overwhelming force. They were indeed transformed by the possibility that the
Rulers of this World might not be invincible.

***

Two thousand years ago Beit Sephor was not yet a
village.It was simply a rocky hillside
on the outskirts of the tiny collection of buildings called Bethlehem.Two thousand years ago Beit Sephor was a
place where shepherds kept sheep and goats.Then as now, people lived in the town and went out to their fields and
orchards to plant, and prune and harvest, returning at night to their families
and their warm safe stone homes.But its never been safe to leave animals on
their own in the night so a few men have the job of living rough, and staying
out in the cold all night, obliged by their bosses to beat off both wolves and
robbers.

Two thousand years ago the cities were occupied by
a foreign army and controlled by a corrupt collaborationist king, and religious
authorities who didn’t want to make trouble for anyone, least of all
themselves.Two thousand years ago a tax
census was ordered so that the occupying government could squeeze more out of
the local population.All of the people
suffered under the occupation.Some of
them resisted with swords, some resisted with words.

Two thousand years ago a small group of nobodies were huddled on the
cold ground, on a cold desert night, and they heard something like
singing.They saw something like
seraphim and cherubim.They heard
something like a great announcement.They
were awed.Two thousand years ago, a
small group of nobodies were astonished that they were the first to hear that Something
Unexpected, powerful and mysterious, had happened among them.

Two thousand years ago a small group of rough men
did the unthinkable.They left the job
and went to see for themselves if this announcement was true.They found what they were looking for, what
they were hoping for, and their lives were transformed.

***

Two thousand years later, on this cold dark night,
here we are on the edge of world, in a place where not much unexpected, or
powerful or mysterious happens.Or does
it?If we have eyes to see, perhaps we
can see that tender vulnerability of a new life can stir up in us the courage
to give everything we have to protect that child.If we have ears to hear, perhaps we can hear
the stories of our ancestors that we do not have to settle for the world the
way it is. A better life for all people
is possible.

This starry night you and I are invited again to
see with the eyes of our heart that the Rulers of this World are not
invincible.This starry night families
who grieve, parents who struggle to feed their kids, people who work in lonely
and dangerous places are reminded that we are not alone in our yearning for
real peace, real justice, real joy.God
is with us, in vulnerability and yearning for liberation.God is with us in courageous acts of love.

This cold starry night we gather together, and
hold up our lights in the darkness because we have seen, we have heard that the
Reign God’s Righteousness is arrived.God’s power to renew and redeem of the world is moving among us.We who have waited in the darkness have seen
the birth of God’s Shalom.Come let us
rejoice.AMEN.

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Our tour began in the Bethlehem District, Palestinian
territory under occupation.

I want to explain what occupation in Palestine means. It
means that the occupying force, in
this case, the Israeli Government, has taken land usually by force, from the Palestinians and paid Israeli families
substantial amounts of money to move into housing developments in the West Bank. The developments
are large clusters of homes usually built
on the highest ground in the area. Israeli army troops protect the settlers.

Many Palestinians are not opposed to living as neighbors
with the Israelis as they have done so peacefully since before the time of Christ. The
objection is to Palestinians being forced to leave their homes, often with twenty-four hours
notice. Many we re told to leave temporarily with the assurance they would be able to
return. When they left, they found soldiers would not allow them to return. There is an
Israeli law that if one does not occupy the property for 90 days, it is considered
abandoned property. If Palestinians did not return to their land, even though they were
physically prevented from doing so, the land was given to Israeli settlers. Usually, the
Israeli settlers have no idea they have been given stolen property.

What
if the Palestinians don’t leave when ordered to? The Israeli ‘s modified Cat bulldozer arrives and not only bulldozes their
home, but bulldozes the old and valuable olive trees from which the Palestinian families make their living. Many
Palestinians have practiced
non-violent resistance by refusing to leave and rebuilding their house only to have the Israelis bulldoze them again. These
steadfast Palestinians have continued to rebuild as many times as necessary just to keep their property.

To “protect” the settlements, the Israeli government has
built walls separating the settlers from the Palestinians (except for the few who keep
rebuilding their homes).

They
build these walls well away from the settlers so they further encroach on
Palestinian homes.
In Bethlehem, we were invited to a beautiful Palestinian home with gorgeous
landscaping. This home used to be located on a large main highway to Jerusalem.
Now, a
very narrow path in front of the house makes it necessary to walk to the house
and park the car
on a side street. We were told there had been a lovely view of the surrounding hills. Now there is a cement
wall that is higher than a three-story building. The walls look like, and effectively
are, prison walls complete with circular barbed razor wire at the top and guard towers on the corners
with cameras and guards monitoring the wall.

The Palestinian people write messages and draw murals on
their side of the wall. The statements tell their stories and encourage peace
and non-violent resistance. Messages on the walls talk about faith and hope of
return to their homes. Many pictures of keys are everywhere. The key is symbolic of the fact that
Palestinians often still have the keys to the homes they were forced to leave even up to forty
years ago. They haven’t lost the hope of return. There is a picture of a young Palestinian
boy posed facing the wall with his hands behind his back. The story is that he dreams of
returninhome and will not turn around until the occupation is over. The walls built
by Israel to separate the occupying Israeli settlers and their soldiers are nothing short of
apartheid.

Another
problem created by the occupation is the forced separation of families. People are confined to the area
surrounded by the walls. If some members of your family live on the other side of the wall,
you not only won’t be able to see them, you won’t be able to talk with them as
there are telephone transmission jamming devices built into the walls. The stated reason for this is
fear of terrorist attacks, but the underlying reason is really an effort to so demoralize the
Palestinians so that they will just leave Israel. The Israeli GOVERNMENT’S plan is to make
life intolerable for the Palestinians by severely restricting their ability to
move about. I have read at least two books in which members of the Israeli
Government have actually stated that fact. One book is The Iron Wall by Avi Shlaim and the other is Palestine,
Peace not Apartheid by Jimmy Carter.

Furthermore, if an Arab Israeli, a Palestinian who live s
in Israel, were to marry someone from the occupied West Bank or Gaza, then this is the
choice: Either the Israeli Arab gives up his/her citizenship, and as a result, the freedom
to move about the country in order to live in the West Bank or Gaza, or the husband and
wife live separately because the person in the occupied territory cannot move to
Israel. The other option is to move to another country. The children are
usually raised in Israel so they will have freedom and opportunity. Once they reach
the age of 16, the children are no longer given a permit by the Israeli Government to see
the parent in occupied territory.

In addition to the settlements and the walls, the Israeli
government has built an elaborate highway system for Israeli settlers. Palestinians must
have a permit to use these highways that are built right over the land taken from them. Permits are
very difficult to obtain and the entrance to these highways is controlled by
Israeli checkpoints manned by 18-21 year old soldiers carrying AK47s, usually with their
finger on the trigger. Palestinians who have a permit are still often detained at checkpoints
for as long as the soldiers wish to detain them.

Palestinians who live in the occupied territory seldom are
issued permits to use these highways. Instead they are forced to drive miles
out of their way on poor quality roads taking two or three hours when the highway would take ten
minutes. To further frustrate the Palestinians, the Israeli soldiers block
different roads on different days, so one could drive for two hours on a bumpy
road only to arrive at a pile of rocks or dirt blocking the road. The soldiers also set up
random checkpoints on Palestinian roads. Palestinians with medical emergencies have
been detained at the checkpoint so long the patient has died.

In the occupied Palestinian Territory, the Israeli
settlers have diverted the water supply to the settlements. The settlers take 80% of the water
and the other 20% is rationed throughout the West Bank of Palestine. We first stayed at
the Bethlehem Hotel on the occupied
West Bank. The shower only trickled with water. Later, at Aida Refugee Camp we learned that the water only comes every
twenty-one days! In fact, the person who talked with us said her family
had been two months without water. When the Israelis
turn on the water for the Palestinians, they call the PLO and the PLO notifies
the Palestinians in the West Bank
that there will be six hours of water so they can store up as much as possible during that six hours. If the call is
missed, the family will have to wait another twenty-one days for water. I watched families draw
water from a public faucet and lug it home. In Hebron, where settlers are occupying right in the
market place complex,
children pointed to water barrels on the roof of their home, showing us holes
shot in the bottom of the water barrel by the Israeli soldiers who guard the
settlers occupying
the adjacent building.

Human rights violations in the occupied territory are
especially disturbing because Israel is considered to be a democracy supported by the United
States. However, democracy does not apply to non-Jewish residents within Israel or
the territories under occupation. Arabs are tried in military courts with unequal
representation and more severe punishments for the same crimes committed by
Jewish Israelis. The most disturbing stories I heard were in respect to arrests of children.
Parents describe being awakened in the middle of the night by soldiers who enter their homes
with AK 47s pointed at them. Their homes are searched and one of their children,
between 12 – 16 years of age, is arrested for throwing stones. If the child had been seen
throwing stones, it would be reasonable to arrest the child during the day. To arrest
in the middle of the night creates terror.

One mother described being on a bus with her 4 year old
child when the soldiers entered the bus and took the child at gunpoint and held
the mother back at gun -point. The child was screaming for his mother. Many Palestinian
children have experienced serious emotional trauma from these types of activities. Defense
for Children International, Palestine Section has published a book of research
entitled BOUND, BLINDFOLDED,and CONVICTED: Children held in military detention
(April 2012). The book has many case studies and interviews as well as the
number of cases and types of abuses inflicted on Palestinian children by
Israeli soldiers.

The Palestinians refer to the unholy trinity of the Israeli
occupation: the settlements in Palestine, the walls built around the settlements
separating and cutting off transportation routes and keeping families apart, and the refugee
camps.

The moderate Israeli and Palestinian people praised the
Oslo Agreement, which provided for a phased withdrawal of Israeli military forces from
the West Bank, the establishment of a Palestinian governing authority with officials to be
elected, and a five -year interim period during which the more difficult and specific issues
would be negotiated. Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, PLO Chairman Yasir Arafat
and Israeli Prime Minister Rabin all received the Nobel Peace Prize for reaching an historic
agreement in 1993. Unfortunately, there were radical individuals on both sides
who opposed the Oslo Agreement. Hope for peace was severely damaged when an Israeli right-wing
religious fanatic,
who declared that his goal was to interrupt the peace process, assassinated
Prime Minister
Rabin.

For years the peace process has been stalled. Meanwhile
the Israeli Government has been busy
building as many settlements (more than 300), complete with the walls and segregated highways, and grabbing as much land as possible
in an effort to prevent a contiguous area of land for the Palestinians to have a Palestinian State.

The resilience and steadfast
hope of the Palestinians in the face of extreme hardship and cruelty is
amazing. Women, with whom we met, spoke honestly about the evolution of feelings. For a long time they
felt very angry about the daily injustices the Palestinian people endure. One woman told
us as she continued to evaluate the circumstances; she realized that anger and hate
just make one weaker and stupid. She and others have learned to fight the enemy
with peace and love. They do not see the Jewish people as their enemy. Instead, the
enemy they are fighting is greed, exclusivity, and the abuse of religion. By using non-violent
resistance, they give no justification for Israeli aggression. Violence gives an excuse for
more repression. The pattern of Arab/Israeli violence needs to be broken,
because all efforts towards peace become invisible when violence erupts. The
two nations don’t know each other very well and the media feeds the extremes.

There are efforts among both Palestinians and Jews to
establish dialog between the citizens. Through dialog each side discovers the feelings
and fear of the other side and they see the humanity of each other. Instead of
clinging to traditional ideologies and turning their pain into more violence, many have begun to
try to understand the other side by sharing their pain and humanity. The Parent Circle and
the Bereaved Family Forum are examples of a gathering network of survivors of victims who share
their grief, their stories of loved ones, and their ideas for a lasting peace. Israel can’t
deal with the holocaust
and Palestine can’t deal with the repression. A personal narrative breaks down barriers and enables
restorative justice to begin.

Kids for Peace is an international organization that takes
4 Jewish kids, 4 Muslim Kids, and 4 Christian kids and sends them to summer camp for two
weeks in July. The kids are 12 years old. The two boys and two girls chosen from each
religion are called The Children of
Abraham. Prior to the camp there are 10-12 meetings for the kids and parents, one every two weeks.

The Women’s Witness Trip provides a forum for
Palestinians, Israelis and Christians to tell their stories, their reality of life today to
people who can carry their stories back to churches and communities throughout the United
States because the United States Government has a powerful influence on Israel.

Collectively, citizens of the United States can
subsequently have a powerful influence on Washington. America bears responsibility for
Israel’s behavior because we have been complicit in their actions. Israel has a right to define
their interests and stand up for them, but just because Israel defines its interests,
doesn’t mean we have an obligation to go along with human rights abuses that
are being inflicted daily on a people, strangling t their freedom and dignity.
This is a situation where one group of people is being stepped on daily by another. We are
treating Israel like a spoiled child that no one will say “no” to. When the United States
says we have Israel ’s back, but don’t call them out on their behavior in a way that gets
their attention no matter what they do, then what does that make us? Not a good friend.

A primary reason that the Arab countries hate Israel and
the United States is due to the way Palestinians are being treated. The United States
needs to demand that Israel treat the Palestinians with dignity and freedom and tie further
financial aid to a just and permanent two state peace solution. Only then will the
Arab countries have better relations toward Israel and the West.

The people have awakened around the world and are using non-violent popular
resistance to achieve freedom and dignity, a right of every human being. There are
thousands of Jewish, Palestinian, and Christian voices for Peace. With steadfast hope and faith,
their voices will be heard and influence the government so that a just and fair peace
will be achieved. Praying that God's Shalom of peace and justice may come on earth. - Jackie